The Imperial Tournament
by lunar2eternal
Summary: King Cold wasn't lazy, and managed to begin the creation of a universal Frozen Empire. more than 75,000 years later, the latest empress has died, and a tournament is being held to determine the successor.


Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball/z/gt or any other related work. It all belongs to Akira Toriyama, Toei, et. al.

A/N: This is an A/U story set over 75,000 years after the canon time-line, but the universe is very different. The tempras (Frieza's people) weren't lazy in this time-line, and actually trained their enormous natural power. Because of this, Frieza never saw saiyans as a threat, and never destroyed Planet Vegeta. Anyway, fast forward several thousand years, and the Frozen Empire spreads throughout the dragonball world, and even into the kaioshin, demon, and Otherworld realms.

The Opening Ceremony

It has been exactly one month since the death of the Empress Icechess, the ruler of the Frozen Empire for the last 500 years. As is custom, Heralds were sent out to all the Universe, the Demon Realm, and Otherworld to announce a tournament to determine the next Emperor. The warriors of the dead were given passes to attend the tournament as honored staff, and every citizen was given notice of the time of the tournament so they could watch from their homes. The strongest warriors from across the realms were given transportation to Cold 93, where they would fight to the death for the privilege of becoming the next emperor.

It was the first day of the second month of the Year of Sorrow. All the preparations had been made, all the warriors gathered from the living and the dead. The ancient granite coliseum had been cleaned and repaired, and the opening ceremony was set to begin.

295,000 high ranking members of the nobility and military were gathered on this uninhabited planet, whose sole purpose was to house the high powered duels and tournaments that the upper echelons of society thrived on. The coliseum itself was the largest stadium of any kind in the universe, with the central fighting platform alone being over a mile on each side. The seating area was separated from the fighting platform by a transparent glass like screen. This screen was designed to focus on the area of highest ki intensity, so that the spectators never had to turn their head more than a few degrees to see the fight as if it was right in front of them.

Through the massive diamond gates marched the 32 competitors in four columns of eight, carrying on poles laid across their shoulders the Katchin Throne. Sitting atop the throne was the spirit of the dead Empress. She was as tall as the adult males of her race at nearly ten feet tall, compared to five to six feet for the juveniles and most females. She was massively built, but clearly very old, as her skin hung loose from her body, and she was gray with death. Her skin was pale red, with pink plates atop her head and centered in her chest, as well as smaller ones on her shoulders, forearms, and lower legs. She had long ago mastered the true form of her race, just like any other warrior, and even in death, she showed no strain from her still massive power.

She was here to perform her last duty before departing to the world of the Grand Kai. There she would study and train for eternity as an adviser to the empire. The procession continued up onto the central platform, and set the throne down. The four lower ruling Kais came each from their own direction, and assisted the Empress to her feet, for her body had not yet been renewed in Otherworld, and she was frail with age. Bracing herself against the ground with her tail, she straightened and began to speak.

"I have lived a long time in this realm, even by the standards of my people. 873 years I've walked the planets of the middle realm, exactly 500 of them as Empress of the Frozen Empire. This empire built by our ancestors is the greatest there ever was, and the greatest there could ever possibly be. We spread across the universe, down into the Demon realm, and up into the heavens. We have reached the boundaries of all three realms, and have brought unity to all!" She was interrupted by the cheering of the crowd, which went on for several seconds with no sign of stopping. She raised her left hand, and effortlessly created a giant ball of ki, the heat of which singed the noses of several in the lower audience through the screen. There was instant silence, and she smiled as she retracted the massive ki back within her. "Much better." she stated matter of factly. "However, all things must end, and my time among you is nearly finished. Please, let the tournament begin, so I may rest."

With that, she sat down back in her throne. There were a few moments of complete silence, and then all the crowd erupted into cheers once again. As the audience continued cheering, the 32 warriors lifted the throne and carried the Empress back towards the gates. They stopped just short, however, and floated up in the air, coming up to an alcove above the gateway. Performing a midair turn, they backed into the alcove, and set the throne onto the dais that was specially designed to receive it. With that, they flew back down to the arena, still in perfect formation.


End file.
